The Fellow is required to complete a publication-quality basic science and/or clinical research project by the end of the Fellowship. The Fellow will have a half to a full day each week to work on this project, without a dedicated research rotation. Additional time may be allocated for research depending upon the Fellow’s research progress.

Fellows are required to take the Introduction to Research for Pediatric Fellows course. It is comprised of the following modules: 3 months of on-line/in-person modules sponsored by the GCRC at UConn, 6-8 lectures at Connecticut Children’s Medical Center, and the completion of CITI training, which is an on-line based human subjects/ethics course. A detailed outline of the overall research course will be given to you by the Fellowship coordinator.

Research may be conducted at three central sites affiliated with the Fellowship:

1. Connecticut Children’s Medical Center: The hospital is the continuation of the Newington Children’s Hospital, a now defunct facility that treated mostly orthopedic pathologies. The hospital database holds extensive records on numerous orthopedic conditions that may be examined for clinical research. In addition, an active clinical research agenda is pursued by the faculty. Connecticut Children's is a level I trauma center and is the only free-standing children’s hospital in the state.
2. Gait Lab: This is a nationally recognized facility comprising approximately 8,000 SF of space at the ambulatory center that provides the full complement of computerized three-dimensional motion analysis. The gait lab is headed by Kristan Pierz and is funded by clinical activities as well as by several grants from private and public sources totaling more than $1 million dollars. Numerous research projects are conducted through this laboratory.
3. New England Musculoskeletal Institute: Located on the University of Connecticut Medical Campus, it houses the basic science laboratories of a variety of investigators intimately tied to the Department of Orthopaedics at the University of Connecticut. Residents and Fellows have access to this facility and may be paired with a basic science research mentor, depending on their particular interests. Funding is specific to each laboratory.

Fellows have an opportunity to collaborate with researchers from the University of Connecticut Health Centers through the well-established Connecticut Institute for Clinical and Translational Science (CICATS), a collaboration between the basic science divisions of the University of Connecticut and the clinical research arms of hospitals in Central Connecticut. Please see the Fellowship Director regarding this opportunity.

Click here to learn more about research support at UConn Health

Click here to learn more about research support at The Jackson Laboratory